We've gone nuts ...

... coconuts that is! Last week, when we did a family "outing" to Sunflower Market, I found a fresh coconut for $1.89! The kids have never seen a real coconut and only know them as great "bombs" from the Disney classic, Swiss Family Robinson. I figured for $1.89 I could give them a bit of an adventure. Sunday night was the great night!

I still had my library copy of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon (which I am trying to talk dh into letting me own!) and checked in there. Yep, she had just how to prep a coconut ... with lots of good things to say about coconuts, coconut oil, coconut milk and dried coconut!

So we popped it open, drained out all the water and then the fun began -- cleaning the coconut from it's shell. Since none of our knives seem sharp, it took a while -- maybe 15-20 minutes to clean out the shell and chop up the meat. A quick whir in the food processor, a bit of warm water and another whir "till fluffy" and we had a lovely, white pulpy something....

Draining this pulpy glop thru cheesecloth yielded the most luxuriously white, creamy substance known as coconut milk -- absolutely sensational on granola (which I have had the last two mornings) or on icecream (which the kids have had the last two nights). The left over processed coconut meat was quickly dried in the oven (Fallon suggested sweetening with maple syrup but since we didn't have any, I just dried the coconut) and that has also been used on the icecream and sprinkled on my granola.

So, for $1.89, we not only got a cup of coconut milk, about 16 oz of dried coconut (that's not all sickly sweet like you get from the store!), and two coconut shells that the kids are fighting over ("I want to make a doll cradle", "a bird nest", "the sound of a horse", etc) ... we also now have a lifetime memory of trying and ENJOYING something a bit exotic.... Pretty good for $1.89!

What a joy it is to find such a wonderful food source and be able to give the kids such an experience!

Ooops -- another rabbit trail ...

I can't wait till the weather turns cooler and our thoughts move to a cooler clime (this when the Front Range temp, at 10:42 pm, is 78!). Thanks to Elizabeth over at 4real, I so want to go on a Beatrix Potter unit study/rabbit trail ... here are the resources I'd use this time around:

• Miss Potter (the movie) -- this sounds like a wonderful (if not QUITE accurate telling of her story)


• Beatrix Potter: A Journal


• Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear

We already own the Collected Works and we love watching the ballet, so these should round out a unit nicely, don't you think?

Have you done a Beatrix Potter unit? Have you had your kids draw like Miss Potter? What resources have you found that would fill out this unit study?

Blessings and prayers,

We Just Got Back (again) ...

... this time from a 10-night camping trip in the big square state of Colorado with just the littles (and Molly, too it seems!). First, we drove to Mesa Verde and spent 4 nights, 5 days. We climbeD ladders, hiked cliffs and generally scared the bewees out of me as we went back 700 years to explore the lives of the Ancient Peubloans (also known as the Anazasi). We camped out in the Mesa Verde park -- at Morehouse Campground -- and had a blast; definitely something for the kids to remember (and dh and me too!).

We visited Spruce Tree House; this is a self-guided (that is, free) tour of a cliff dwelling.

We then did the Petroglyph hike -- which is only 2.8 miles but is LOTS of ups and downs and in the sun and seems MUCH LONGER! We were able to get views of other cliff dwellings: The next day, we went to Cliff Palace, the largest of all the dwellings so far. This was an amazing hike down and then a fairly scary scaling of ladders back up. The picture of the ladder wedged between rocks is the LAST ladder back up .... for someone not keen on heights (that's ME!), this was pretty intense but still do-able!

What a TRIP! We went to Long House (the second largest dwelling in the park) but I forgot the camera. This too was exceptional -- including the 3-15ft ladders involved in the overall trek.

What a historic gem! We got lots of details and will add this to our ancient cultures history unit this next Fall ... definitely a bonus for us homeschoolers....

After Mesa Verde, we drove north to the YMCA of the Rockies at Snow Mountain -- Winter Park. Now this is FAMILY-ORIENTED. We spent 4 nights (5 days) here doing archery, crafts, rollerskating, putt-putt golf and just generally having a blast as a family. Tons of great family fun and nice cool (if rainy) nights that cooled the 80+ days down to the 30s -- what a country!

If you've ever been to Mesa Verde or to the Y-camp, please let me know your experiences ...

Blessings and prayers,